[Birdtalk] northern hawk owl - Friday 11/17

[Lu Giddings]

My wife and I made the drive to Rexburg today. We arrived at Beaver Dick
State Park at about 12:30 p.m. and the bird was waiting for us, about
15' up in a tree, about 50' west of the park road and about 100' south
of State Road 33.  We had the park to ourselves for about 30 minutes and
then several carloads of people showed up. The bird seemed remarkably
unconcerned by its admirers. We spent about an hour watching the owl and
looking around the park. We did some additional birding as we drove back
through Rexburg, Rigby, and Idaho Falls.

I've posted a couple of owl photos at

http://picasaweb.google.com/seldom74/NorthernHawkOwl

I was a bit concerned about finding Beaver Dick SP but we had no
troubles. We drove north on I-15 to Idaho Falls and got off on the
Rigby-West Yellowstone-Highway 20 exit. We then followed Highway 20
northeast past Rigby to Rexburg, got off on the Highway 33 exit, and
followed it west about 5-6 miles. Beaver Dick State Park is located just
west of 6000 West and is situated immedaitely on the west bank of
Henry's Fork. You'll find the park entrance on the south side of the
road. It's well marked and nearly impossible to miss.

Lu Giddings

Total Count: 27 species

Canada Goose
Trumpeter Swan
American Wigeon
Mallard
Redhead
Ring-necked Duck
Lesser Scaup
Common Goldeneye
Ring-necked Pheasant
Bald Eagle
Northern Harrier
Red-tailed Hawk
American Kestrel
American Coot
Ring-billed Gull
Californian Gull
Rock Pigeon
Northern Hawk Owl
Northern Flicker
Black-billed Magpie
American Crow
Common Raven
Black-capped Chickadee
Townsend's Solitaire
European Starling
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow